Ice chipping machine



July 5, 1960 R. E. WOLFERMAN ICE CHIPPING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJune 24, 1958 INVENTOR. P4 YMO/VO E. M/UL FEE/"4N,

4 TTOQ/VEYS.

July 5, 1960 R. E. WOLFERMAN ICE CHIPPING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJune 24, 1958 INVENTOR. en yMo/va 5. W04F2M4A ATTOE/VE 45.

2,943,462 Patented July 5, 1960 ice ICE CHIPPIN G MACHINE Raymond E.Wolferman, Milford, Ind., assignor of fifteen percent to Carl FordBender and Janice Dean, both of New Paris, Ind.

Filed June 24, 1958, Ser. No. 744,146

7 Claims. (Cl. 62354) This invention relates to ice chipping machines,and more particularly has reference to a machine of this nature designedto be used whenever a medium crushed ice is needed, such as in thepacking of foodstuffs, or as a chilling means for soft drinks, etc. Inthis connection, as regards the type of ice produced by operation of themachine, the machine is designed to produce hard-frozen ice chips,ranging in size from perhaps one-fourth to onehalf inch in length andwidth, or perhaps slightly greater.

One object of importance is to provide a machine of the character statedwhich will be simple in construction, and yet highly efficient inaction.

Another object is to form the machine in such manner that it will berugged, and capable of operation for extended periods of time withoutrequiring maintenance or repair.

Still another object is to provide a machine that will make use ofconventional Freon-type refrigeration units.

A further object is to design the machine in such a manner that itscapacity, in respect to ice produced in a given rate of time, will besubstantially in excess of the capacity of other machines of the samegeneral size and rating, the machine being so designed as to produce aloss well below that which is characteristic of other machinesheretofore devised for the same purpose.

Still another object is to provide a machine which will be characterizedby its ease of installation, its compact size, and its swift andsubstantial ice production.

Other objects will appear from the following description, theclaimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machine formed according to the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough, substantially online 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view, substantially on line 3-3 ofFigure 2; and 7 Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 ofFigure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, designated generally at 10 is astationary support frame including, at one end of the frame, atransversely extending or end channel member 12, disposed horizontallyin and welded or otherwise fixedly secured at its opposite ends to theadjacent ends of parallel, outwardly facing, straight, elongated,longitudinal channel frame members 14, 16, respectively. The frame isformed open at its opposite ends to permit the discharge of the icechips, in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The frame includes corner supports or legs 18, extending verticallydownwardly from opposite ends of the longitudinal members 14, 16, andfixedly secured to said longitudinal frame members. At their lower ends,the legs are connected by lower longitudinal members 22.

This provides a relatively low, elongated, open center support frameopening at one end.

A rectangular, horizontal, support plate 24 is fixedly secured to thetop surface of frame member 16, and mounted thereon is a speed reducer26 which is per se conventional, and in a preferred embodiment is a wormgear reducer having a 30-to-l ratio between its input and output. Adrive motor 28 is mounted upon a bracket 29 carried by the lowerlongitudinal frame members 22 of the frame. The motor is of the gearhead type as shown at 30, and to the output shaft of the gear head thereis connected a pulley 32 about which is trained a belt 34 extendingupwardly and trained about a driven pulley 36 connected to the inputshaft 38 of reducer 26. The output shaft 39 of said reducer extendslaterally inwardly from frame member 60 above the same, and isjournalled in bearing 41 carried by plate 24.

Secured to shaft 39 for rotation therewith is a crank arm 40, connectedto a pitman or connecting rod 42 by means of a connecting pin 44. Pitman42, at its other end, has a transversely extending sleeve 46 integral orotherwise made rigid with the pitman, and rotatably receiving a crosspin 48 that extends between upwardly projecting ears 50 of a knifeassembly generally designated 51. This includes a carriage, saidcarriage being elongated in a direction transversely of the frame andincluding a vertically disposed back plate 52.

The carriage is provided with a transversely extending, upper rollershaft 54 the ends of which carry upper rollers 55 that are in contactwith the undersides of hold-down plates 56 bolted at 57 to the top wallsof the side frame members 14, 16 in position projecting laterallyinwardly, over the full length of the hold-down plate, from the sideframe members.

The hold-down plates, in a commercial embodiment, might be adjustedupwardly or downwardly, to correspondingly adjust the distance betweenthe cutter knife and the surface from which the ice is cut.

Trip means is provided, to adjust the cutting knife to and from oppositepositions, at opposite ends of the stroke of the same, that is, atopposite ends of the travel of the carriage. To this end, there areprovided elongated, horizontally swinging trip arms 58, 58 fulcrumedintermediate their ends on vertical axes by means of pins 60, on one ofthe plates 56, adjacent opposite ends of said plate. Contractile springs62 are connected between the outer ends of the arms and the frame member16, with one arm being normally biased clockwise in Figure 1, this beingthe arm at the right in this figure of the drawing, by its spring. Theother arm is normally biased counterclockwise in the same figure of thedrawing, about its pivot.

Elongated, confronting, channeledtracks or ways 64 are secured to theinner surfaces of the side frame members, below the hold-down plates,and in a commercial embodiment, are secured to the frame members bybolts 65 or their equivalents. If desired, the construction may be suchthat the members 14, 16 have short vertical slots receiving the bolts,so that the tracks can be bodily adjusted in a vertical direction, againfor the purpose of selectively locating the knife edge in respect to thesurface over which the knife edge wipes.

In any event, lower rollers 66 are carried by the carriage, on a pair oftransverse shafts 68 (see Figure 2). Shafts 68 are carried by a bottomplate 69 of the carriage, said bottom plate at the front of the carriagehaving an upwardly rearwardly inclined, transverse front flange 71 towhich is secured a correspondingly inclined knife 70. Knife extends thefull width of the carriage as shown in Figure 3, and has a lower edgefor-med with forwardly declining, triangularly pointed cutting teeth 73.

The knife is pivoted to swing between its operative position showninFigure 2, and an inoperative position in which the teeth 73 are spacedupwardly from their Figure 2 positions. The knife swings about ahorizontal, transverse axis defined by a pivot bar 72, which extendsbetween opposite sides of the carriage, being carried by the upper edgeportion of the inclined front flange 71, said bar 72 extending throughkeepers 75 projecting rearwardly from a knife carrier plate 81 havingthreaded openings 83 in which are engaged cap screws 85 extendingthrough slots 87 formed in knife 70 so as to permit adjustment of theknife, in respect to an evaporator 97 to be described hereinafter.

Referring to Figure 3, integral with and extending upwardly from oneside of the knife is a finger 69 which extends across the plane ofswinging movement of the arms 58, 58. ,When the carriage is in itsreturn movement, that is, when the carriage travels from left to rightin Figure 2, to its starting position shown in Figure 2, finger 69engages the right hand arm 58, viewing the same as in this figure of thedrawing. Said arm 58 in actuality extends as a stop, and engaging theback of finger 69 will cause the knife 70 to be rocked counterclockwisein Figure 2 about its pivot axis, lowering teeth 73 to their operative,Figure 2 positions.

At the other end of the travel of the carriage, the front surface offinger 69 is cammingly engaged by the front stop 58, so that the knifeis now rocked clockwise in Figure 2, to elevate teeth 73. There issuflicient frictional engagement between bar 72 and keepers 75 tomaintain the knife in its upwardly swung position, until it engages thestop shown at the right in Figure 2 once again, which will of course nOWswing the knife in a return direction to once again lower the teeth.

A hose 76 is connected to a cross head 77 disposed in back of knife 70.The cross head 77 has ends 74 (Figure 1) that are in communication withthe end portions of a manifold 79 having a plurality of outlets adaptedto discharge water in back of the knife, during the movement of thecarriage forwardly and rearwardly in its tracks.

At its inlet end, hose 76 is connected to a T 78, to which are connectedtubes 80, 82.

Referring to Figure 2, tube 80 extends downwardly, and is continuouslyopen at its lower end within a tank to be described in detailhereinafter. The tube 80 is provided to relieve back pressure developingWithin the T, thereby to reduce the amount of pressure with which wateris tfOI'CCd through hose 76, and in this way eliminate splashing ondischarge of the water in spray jets from the small nozzles or jets ofthe manifold 79.

Tube 82, as shown in Figure 2, is also extended downwardly, and isconnected to the output of the pump 84, the input of which is incontinuous communication with water W provided within a tank 86 having aflaring top portion 88. The pump is driven by an electric motor 89mounted on the wall of tank 86. The tank is supported upon legs 90, andwater is supplied to the tank through a line 92 connected to a source ofwater under pressure, as for example the city water supply. Afloat-controlled valve 94 is opened responsive to dropping of a float 96below a predetermined level, thus to maintain a constant level of waterwithin the tank 86.

An evaporator generally designated 97 is in the form of a thin, sheetmetal tray having longitudinal ribs 98 of inverted V-shape in crosssection, defining V-shaped recesses 99 within which the respective teeth73 are disposed, the opposite side edges of each tooth being in wipingcontact with the opposite side walls of each recess 99. The evaporatortray or plate is fixedly mounted in horizontal positions, being extendedacross the open center of the support frame. The material used for thetray is preferably cast aluminum.

Extending longitudinally within each downwardly opening rib 98 is alength of copper tubing, through which a suitable refrigerant, such asFreon, is continuously circulated.

At the outlet or discharge end of the evaporator, shown as the left handend in Figure 1, there is provided a screen 100 declining in a forwarddirection from the evaporator as shown in Figure 2, and preferablyformed of stainless steel, said screen being adapted to prevent icechips from falling into the water returns constituted by the inclinedwalls of the flared top portion of the tank. In other words, waterdeposited upon the evaporator may not be all frozen, and may be wipedoff the discharge end of the evaporator by the knife during the forwardmovement of the carriage. Said water will flow ofi the evaporatorthrough the screen, onto the inclined wall of the flared portion 88, tobe returned to the tank for reuse. Water wiped off the other end of theevaporator flows onto the other or rear wall of the flared portion 88,as will be clearly apparent from Figure 2.

At its forward end, the screen is connected to a discharge chute 102extending transversely between the members 14, 16, within the open endof the frame, and inclined correspondingly to the chute, so that icechips will be discharged into a suitable receiver, not shown.

The evaporator coil is of serpentine or tortuous form, as clearly shownin Figure l, and is a continuous length of copper tubing 104, with eachconvolution extending immediately below adjacent ribs 98, along thelongitudinal median of the ribs.

Designated at 106 are small, transversely extending grooves 106 whichare formed directly in the bases of the recesses, adjacent the oppositeends of each recess, said grooves extending partially up the walls ofeach recess. These grooves tend to bring the'water that flows into thesame closer to the copper coil, so that water within the grooves freezesalmost instantly, causing expansion of ice and forming bumps at theopposite ends of the respective recesses, so that each recess is causedto hold more water to be sheared oft in the form of ice with each cut ofthe knife.

In use, the carriage is of course continuously reciprocated responsiveto operation of the motor and at the same time, water is continuouslydirected through the spray nozzles, onto the surface of the evaporatortray, in back of the carriage. The maximum water level is shown inFigure 3. Said water freezes almost instantly in the form of a thinsheet on the surface of the evaporator, so that each time the carriagemoves forwardly, all the water, including that frozen in the form ofbumps within the grooves 106, that has previously been frozen, will besheared off by the knife blades or teeth 73 to gravitate along screen100 and sheet 102. When the carriage reaches its forwardmost position,the left hand stop 58 swings the same as previously described to elevatethe knife teeth, so that when the carriage moves to its startingposition, it will not be in contact with the walls of the recesses.Therefore, water deposited within the recesses in back of the carriageduring the forward movement thereof is given ample time to freeze. Then,when the carriage reaches its starting position the knife teeth arelowered and the carriage again moves forwardly, shearing ofi the iceformed during the last full forward and backward movement or cycle ofthe carriage.

As to this, it will be noted that during the forward movement of thecarriage, the water is being discharged in a fine spray immediately inback of the carriage, over the full length of the evaporator tray, in amanner such that first there is a thin sheet of Water laid down upon thetray during the forward movement of the carriage, which water freezesalmost instantly, after which a second sheet is deposited during thebackward movement of the carriage, directly upon the first sheet. Thisalso freezes, awaiting the next or cutting stroke of the knife.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carryout said principles, it being Considered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame; an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinally extending corrugations formingalternating ribs and recesses, and means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocating on said tray in a path parallel to theseveral corrugations, said assembly having a shearing stroke and areturn stroke when reciprocated, and including a knife in the form of ablade the length of which extends transversely of the severalcorrugations, said blade being mounted in the assembly for retention ata predetermined angularity to the tray in juxtaposition theretothroughout the shearing stroke, and being formed with a longitudinalseries of cutting teeth alternating with the ribs to extend into saidrecesses for shearing from the tray ice forming in the recesses; andmeans overlying the tray adapted for depositing water upon said tray.

2. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame; an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinally extending corrugations ofinverted V-shape in cross section, whereby to define between adjacentcorrugations longitudinal recesses of V-shaped cross section, saidevaporator additionally including means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocation on said tray in a path parallel to theseveral corrugations, said assembly having a shearing stroke and areturn stroke when reciprocated, and including a knife in the form of ablade the length of which extends transversely of the severalcorrugations, said blade being mounted in the assembly for retention ata predetermined angularity to the tray in juxtaposition theretothroughout the shearing stroke, and being formed with a longitudinalseries of cutting teeth alternating with the corrugations to extend intosaid recesses, for shearing from the tray ice forming in the recesses;and means overlying the tray adapted for depositing water within therecesses, thus to provide, in the bottoms of the recesses, elongated,rod-like, thin lengths of ice to be broken into chip form by said teeth.

3. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame; an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinally extending corrugations ofinverted V-shape in cross section, whereby to define between adjacentcorrugations longitudinal recesses of V-shaped cross section, saidevaporator additionally including means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocating on said tray in a path paralleling thecorrugations through a shearing stroke and a return stroke, andincluding a knife having cutting teeth alternating with the corrugationsto extend into said recesses, for shearing from the tray ice forming inthe recesses, said assembly including a carriage carrying said knife androllably mounted upon the frame in position extending transversely ofsaid tray, the knife being in the form of a blade on which the cuttingteeth are arranged in a series extending longitudinally of the blade,said blade being mounted in the assembly for retention at apredetermined angularity to the tray in juxtaposition thereto throughoutthe shearing stroke; and means carried by the carriage adapted fordepositing water within the recesses, thus to provide, in the bottoms ofthe recesses, elongated, rod-like, thin lengths of ice to be broken intochip form by said teeth.

4. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame, an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinally extending corrugations ofinverted V-shape in cross section, whereby to define between adjacentcorrugations longitudinal recesses of V-shaped cross section, saidevaporator additionally including means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocating on said tray in a path paralleling thecorrugations through a shearing stroke and a return stroke, andincluding a knife having cutting teeth alternating with the corrugationsto extend into said recesses, for shearing from the tray ice forming inthe'recesses', said assembly including a car'- riage carrying said knifeand rollably mounted upon the frame in position extending transverselyof said tray, the knife being in the form of a blade on which thecutting teeth are arranged in a series extending longitudinally of theblade, said blade being mounted in the assembly for retention at apredetermined angularity to the tray in juxtaposition thereto throughoutthe shearing stroke; and means carried by the carriage adapted fordepositing water within the recesses, thus to provide, in the bottoms ofthe recesses, elongated, rod-like, thin lengths of ice to be broken intochip form by said teeth, comprising a spray head extending transverselyof the carriage immediately in back of said knife.

5. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame, an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinally extending corrugations ofinverted V-shape in cross section, whereby to define between adjacentcorrugations longitudinal recesses of V-shaped cross section, saidevaporator addtionally including means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocating on said tray and including a knife havingcutting teeth alternating with the corrugations to extend into saidrecesses, for shearing from the tray ice forming in the recesses, saidassembly including a carriage carrying said knife and rollably mountedupon the frame in position extending transversely of said tray; meanscarried by the carriage adapted for depositing water substantiallycontinuously within the recesses, thus to provide, in the bottoms of therecesses, elongated, rodlike, thin lengths of ice to be broken into chipform by said teeth, comprising a spray head extending transversely ofthe carriage immediately in back of said knife, said knife beingpivotally mounted upon the carriage for swinging movement about ahorizontal axis extending transversely of the carriage, whereby to raiseand lower said teeth; and means on the frame at opposite ends of thetray, engageable with said knife for rocking the same in one directionon movement of the carriage to one end of its path of reciprocation, andin the opposite direction on movement of the carriage to the oppositeend of its path of reciprocation, said knife being swung in a directionto elevate the teeth out of contact with the tray when the carriage hasmoved through its ice-cutting stroke, and to lower the teeth intoengagement with the tray fol lowing return of the carriage to itsstarting position.

6. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame, an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinally extending corrugations ofinverted V-shape in cross section, whereby to define between adjacentcorrugations longitudinal recesses of V-shaped cross section, saidevaporator additionally including means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocating on said tray and including a knife havingcutting teeth alternating with the cor" rugations to extend into saidrecesses, for shearing from the tray ice forming in the recesses, saidassembly including a carriage carrying said knife and rollably mountedupon the frame in position extending transversely of 'said tray; meanscarried by the carriage adapted for depositing Water substantiallycontinuously within the recesses, thus to provide, in the bottoms of therecessses, elongated, rodlike, thin lengths of ice to be broken intochip form by said teeth, comprising a spray head extending transverselyof the carriage immediately in back of said knife, said knife beingpivotally mounted upon the carriage for swinging movement about ahorizontal axis extending transversely of the carriage, whereby to raiseand lower said teeth; means on the frame at opposite ends of the tray,engageable with said knife for rocking the same in one direction onmovement of the carriage to one end of its path of reciprocation, and inthe opposite direction on movement of the carriage to the opposite endof its path of reciprocation, said knife being swung in a direction toelevate the teeth out of contact with the tray when the carriage hasmoved through its ice-cutting stroke, and to lower the teeth intoengagement with the tray following return of the carriage to itsstarting position; and means for continuously pumping water through saidspray head.

7. An ice chip machine comprising: a frame, an evaporator thereonincluding a tray having longitudinallyex tending corrugations ofinverted V-shape in cross section, whereby to define between adjacentcorrugations longitudinal recesses of V-shaped cross section, saidevaporator additionally including means for refrigerating the tray; aknife assembly reciprocating on said tray and including a knife havingcutting teeth alternating with the corrugations to extend into saidrecesses, for shearing from the tray ice forming'in the recesses, saidassembly including a carriage carrying said knife and rollably mountedupon the frame in position extending transversely of said tray; meanscarried by the carriage adapted for depositing water substantiallycontinuously within the recesses, thus to provide, in the bottoms of therecesses, elongated, rod-like, thin lengths of ice to be broken intochip form by said teeth, comprising a spray head extending transverselyof the carriage immediately in back of said knife, said knife beingpivotally mounted upon the carriage for swinging movement about ahorizontal axis extending transversely of the carriage, whereby to raiseand lower said teeth; means on the frame at opposite ends of the tray,engageable with said :knife for rocking the same in one direction onmovement of the carriage to one end of its path of reciprocation, and inthe opposite direction on movement of the carriage to the opposite endof its path of reciprocation, said knife being swung in a direction toelevate the teeth out of contact with the tray when the carriage hasmoved through its ice-cutting stroke, and to lower the teeth intoengagement with the tray following return of the carriage to itsstarting position; means for continuously pumping water through saidspray headyand a discharge chute arranged to extend beyond one end ofthe tray for receiving ice sheared from-the tray by the knife.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,467,933 Gruhn Apr. 19, 1949

